Bob Finnan's NBA notes: Andrew Wiggins all the way in with Cleveland'

By Bob Finan

Saturday, June 28, 2014

The selection of Kansas swingman Andrew Wiggins is just the start of things to come.
The Cavaliers are hoping to have a summer fans will never forget and it started with picking Wiggins at No. 1 in the 2014 draft.
“We’re very excited with what we were able to do with the first pick,” General Manager David Griffin said. “It made us appreciably better.”
Wiggins’ athleticism separates him from the majority of his peers in the 2014 draft.
“He had the most upside in the draft,” Griffin said. “Andrew Wiggins is all the way in with Cleveland. He’s already reached out to Kyrie Irving.”
That was probably a veiled reference to Duke’s Jabari Parker, who preferred Milwaukee over the Cavs.
Before Kansas center Joel Embiid had foot surgery on June 21, he appeared to be the leader of the pack for the Cavs with the No. 1 pick.
“(Embiid) was very much in play,” Griffin said. “Joel is a great kid. He worked out well here.
“It would have been a three-horse race. It became a two-horse race. It certainly did come down to those two guys.”
There was reportedly some internal debate once the Cavs narrowed the field to two players. Griffin said he allowed the rumor mill to churn regarding the top pick. He wanted to keep everyone guessing and keep their options open.
“We weren’t going to stop listening until we made a pick,” he said.
They solidified their pick mid-afternoon on June 26.
Griffin said Wiggins will play shooting guard and small forward.
“If Andrew finds greatness in this league, I think it’s as a big ‘2’ guard,” he said. “He’s a perfect complement to our scoring guards (Irving and Dion Waiters).”
Griffin said he was a little concerned Wiggins wasn’t an alpha dog at Kansas, who took over games on a regular basis.
“With that level of athleticism, he needs to make his presence felt,” he said. “He’s very much a team guy. He’s not a ‘me’ guy. He’s a ‘we’ guy. He was taking what was there (with Jayhawks).”
LeBron factor
Wiggins won’t likely be much of a factor in recruiting free agent LeBron James to the Cavs.
“He’s a grown man,” the rookie said. “He has to follow wherever his heart is.”
Wiggins, 19, said he and James are “cool.” He said he doesn’t know him very well.
“He’s one of the best ever,” he said. “It would always be great to play with the best ever. He’s at the level I want to be at.”
Miami is still the favorite to land James. The Cavs have a smidgen of a chance.
Rumor mill
--Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love said he’d sign a long-term extension with the Cavs if they acquired James, ESPN reports. But Love wants nothing to do with the Cavs if they don’t sign James?
--Griffin was astonished by all the bogus trade rumors leading up to the draft.
“The league is moving at the speed of Twitter,” he said. “Some of it is asinine.”
--The Cavs did get several offers for the No. 1 pick. The Philadelphia rumors of the Sixers’ Nos. 3 and 10 picks, as well as guard Michael Carter-Williams or Thaddeus Young, were way overblown.
--There are some observers who actually think the Cavs should have taken the risky pick of Kansas center Joel Embiid, despite the foot surgery. The 76ers aren’t afraid of risks, and have acquired big men Andrew Bynum, Nerlens Noel and Embiid since the summer of 2012. No one in that trio, including Bynum who is now with the Pacers, has played one game for the Sixers. Embiid was an intriguing prospect, but he’s expected to miss from five to eight months, and possibly the entire season.
“All that matters is the long-term health of the player,” Sixers GM Sam Hinkie said.
--There are two reasons I don’t believe Houston is a viable option for James in free agency: First, I don’t believe James wants to play with Dwight Howard and his happy-go-lucky attitude; Second, I don’t think James would mesh with the ball-dominant James Harden. If anyone is going to dominate the ball, it’s James.
--Many observers are picking Parker as the favorite for Rookie of the Year. For one thing, he’ll probably get more shots than any of the other rookies, including Wiggins. Wiggins likely could be the Cavs’ third option.
Quick shots
--Cavs coach David Blatt, who has never coached one game in the NBA, doesn’t seem worried about the transition.
“Absolutely it’s a challenge,” he said. “But I’ve got to tell you, the game is not as different as people think it is.”
--Blatt doesn’t believe it should have taken this long for a European coach to land an NBA job.
“(The Cavs) were the ones who had the courage to make that kind of move,” he said. “I think it was more about the stigma than it was about the qualifications.”
--He joked it might be difficult to adopt Maccabi Tel Aviv’s philosophy: “Never lose a game,” he said. “Not one, or there’s going to be a countrywide investigation. I hope management didn’t hear me say that.”
--The Cavs now have a league-high four Canadian players on the roster: Wiggins, Tristan Thompson, Anthony Bennett and Dwight Powell, acquired from Charlotte on draft night.
“We have more opportunities,” Wiggins said. “When people make it, it opens other doors for the youth and the younger people.”
Powell and Brendan Haywood are heading to the Cavs for Alonzo Gee in a deal that won’t be announced until after the moratorium July 10.
--Blatt said he wouldn’t want to put himself in a beauty contest with Clippers coach Doc Rivers.
“He’s a great looking guy,” he joked.
--Griffin likes the Blatt-Tyronn Lue pairing on the Cavs’ coaching staff.
“In many ways, they are the wonder twins,” Blatt said. “They are the perfect blend for each other. They’ve really hit it off. I appreciate Doc Rivers enabling us to pursue it.”
Depth chart
PG: Irving, Jarrett Jack, Matthew Dellavedova
SG: Waiters, Joe Harris, Scotty Hopson
C: Anderson Varejao, Tyler Zeller, Haywood
PF: Thompson, Bennett, Powell
SF: Wiggins, Sergey Karasev, Carrick Felix
By the numbers
Odds, courtesy of Bovada, on who will be Rookie of the Year: Parker 5-1, Wiggins 11-2, Julius Randle 9-1, Noel 9-1, Dante Exum 10-1, Doug McDermott 10-1, Elfrid Payton 10-1